The White Rose of Fiorazzurro (A Dvorak Novel; Complete)

Chapter 6 (or, "My Name Is Milaya")

Night descended quickly upon Fiorazzurro, as the sun dipped beneath the horizon line and the streets became awash in a wave of color. Night meant the limitations on electricity could be lifted, and people could turn their lamps on to see by. It was time for lavish end of the week parties before the next week started and everybody went back to worn on Oneday.

Daisy walked the streets of downtown Fiorazzurro, mulling over the day's events. She was used to these streets by now; for a person who didn't actually have a home to tend to, the streets had become her playground. But it didn't bother Daisy at all. She was actually rather used to it, as faeries themselves only had temporary dwellings and learned how to appreciate the out of doors from day one. Downtown Fiorazzurro was nothing like Daisy's faerie encampment, but she tried to see the good in it, breathe in the energy from the trees and settle into the spots of bare ground she could find.

She longed to go barefoot, to remove the cap from her head. But both acts would expose her.

She took a seat in front of the huge Hall of Justice, located right in the center of the plaza. An interactive fountain shot bursts of water, all scientifically timed, up into the air so they would come down in formation. Children played by the fountain, dipping their hands into the water and throwing minibit coins in, making wishes. How silly it all was to Daisy. Why were people so happy here when there were so many people suffering in and out of the city?

She huffed and continued to walk until someone caught her eye. When she looked closer, she noticed it was the girl from the illusion trick, the one with the short green dress and the boots who looked entirely out of place. Her hair was back in those ponytails that Daisy knew were illegal. A rebel? Who knew?

Daisy picked up her pace and kept her voice low, standing by the girl who stared into the fountain. "What are you doing here? I thought you escaped."

The girl looked up at Daisy, noting her pageboy cap, her black pants, her grey eyes. "I'm not coming with you, if you're from the police," she said in slightly accented Italian. "I'll find a way to resist arrest."

"Oh, I'm not here to arrest you. I was just curious why you were here." Daisy motioned to the girl's hair. "And why you've got this going on again. Do you want to be arrested?"

"I don't want to be anything here. I'm just in the wrong spot at the wrong time."

The girl didn't look up still, so Daisy sat by her. If she threatened anything, Daisy could counter back with any number of secret faerie tricks. Some of them wouldn't work this far out in public, but others would be perfect, sneak attacks she could perform and then disappear with. just like that man had done on the stage earlier that same day. "What's your name?"

"Milaya. Just call me Milaya. You?"

"Daisy. Just call me Daisy."

Milaya gave her another look. "You're a girl? The people in this world must have different gender indicators."

"It's not precisely that -- I'm trying to hide my gender." Daisy didn't know why she was revealing this much to the girl. "Are you not from Fiorazzurro?"

"Nope. Are you?"

"Not from the city itself. So you don't know all the rules they've put in place."

"I know I'm not supposed to wear my hair like this, but at this moment, it's sounding decidedly Soviet." Daisy didn't know the meaning of the word 'Soviet,' but figured it was comparable to Queen Cendrillon's rule. "I'm not from here, and I'm not going to play by your rules."

Now Daisy knew why she liked this Milaya girl so much. She could very possibly be her first ally. "Do you know how you disappeared from the stage so quickly?"